Picture of Suzzanah's dress to the side.

THE OFFICIAL TRAILER FOR 'UNCONDITIONALLY' IS UP. THE LINK IS ATTACHED TO THE VERY FIRST CHAPTER OF THIS BOOK, THAT IS THE CHAPTER TITLED 'UNCONDITIONALLY'. THE LINK IS ALSO IN MY BIO ^-^

Dedicated to robstenslove for your ever enthusiastic votes, comments and support towards this story. It means the world to me.

A huge shoutout to be_brave20 for your amazing support from the very beginning of this story. Your votes and comments make me very happy!

This chapter is unedited so kindly excuse the grammatical errors.

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Suzzanah's POV

Sometimes it's unbelievable how someone whom we didn't even know up until a short while ago, now feels like the center of our entire universe. Every breath that we take, seems to be for them. Every beat of our hearts seems be for them. With that one person, everything seems right. Without that one person, nothing seems right!

This must be what it's like...to have a soulmate!

As I stood engulfed in Zuerien's strong arms, with my head against his chest and my arms around his waist, I couldn't think of a single other place I'd rather be, than here, now, in his arms. There was nowhere else I'd rather be, than with him.

From a human's point of view, this attachment I felt really would seem like an unjustified infatuation. After all, I knew next to nothing about him, but if there was one thing I did know, it was this...whatever I would find out about him from here on forward, would only make me want him more. It would only make me appreciate him and cherish him more, and that's what I would do. No matter what, I would try and understand him, and even if I couldn't understand...I would do the one thing I could do...

THE one thing

"Thank you", I whispered against his chest and his arms tightened ever so slightly around me.

"You don't have to thank me", he said softly, stroking my hair, "Neither do you have to worry about not knowing anything about me", he pulled away just enough to be able to see my face, "All you have to do is ask"

"Really?!"

He nodded, "For starters, I don't have a favorite color, but I prefer black to others and I don't have a favorite food either, I can eat anything as long as it isn't inedible"

"You read my mind earlier didn't you?" I asked and he nodded, "I did. Kai is right, it is cozy in there"

"Didn't I tell you to stay out of my head?" I said and he shrugged, "You did"

"Well then?"

"I don't remember agreeing to it"

"Ah!" I gaped at him in irritation before pushing at his chest, "I really need to learn how to block you out"

"Why?" he asked as I walked to my bed and placed the box on it, "Trying to hide some inappropriate thoughts from your mate?"

"Absolutely", I agreed with a shudder.

His eyebrows rose, "Oh? And you're not shy to admit it?"

I cocked my head to the side, "Why would I be? It doesn't mean that those thoughts are about you"

In a flash, Zuerien was in front of me making me stumbled backwards in shock.

I didn't even see him move!

His arms shot out and wrapped around my waist and I was pulled into his solid torso. An unladylike squawk escaped my lips as my very human chest molded into the hard panes of his granite one.

Shocked, when I looked up at him, I gasped at the sight of two bright golden orbs boring into my wide brown ones.

Gold...

"Who?" he demanded, his voice a bare whisper, but the warning and anger in it clear as day.

"Zuerien?"

"Who?" he repeated, "Who is this guy you think about?"

"Guy?"

"Who is he? I'll kill him"

My eyes bulged out of their sockets, "WHAT! NO! Who are you going to kill?!"

"That guy"

"Which guy?"

"The guy you think about?"

"I don't think about no guy"

"Then who were you talking about?"

"Myself!" I told him making the anger disappear from his features in an instant, being replaced by confusion, "What?"

"I wasn't talking about some other guy. I was talking about myself!" I told him before sighing exasperatedly, "Not everything is about you men you know. Honestly..."

His grip around me loosened, the confusion still not leaving his face completely. I had to say, it was quite an adorable expression, one I rarely ever got to see. What did he not understand?

After a few more seconds he breathed out, "Huh, wow", he raised his eyebrows looking impressed, amusement painting itself across his features, "I have to say this is quite unexpected. I never thought that underneath all that innocence, my mate actually had a dirty side"

My head shot up to his in confusion, "What?"

"Having inappropriate thoughts about yourself, are you Suzzanah?" he said smirking, "Who would have known?"

My face nearly exploded from the blood overload as my jaw hit the ground in shock, "WHAT! NO!" I shouted appalled, "I didn't- I didn't mean-"

"To tell me?" he asked looking more amused by the minute, "So it was a slip of the tongue? Don't worry. I don't mind at all"

"You- you've got the wrong idea! I didn't mean that kind of inappropriate!"

"So what kind of inappropriate did you mean, my naughty little mate?"

EEEEEEEEPPPPP

"The embarrassing kind!" I shouted jerking my hands for emphasis, "It's the kind of stuff one never wants anyone to find out about"

"It couldn't be that bad"

"It was!" I insisted holding my head in my hands, "Like the time I walked straight into a glass door thinking that it was open. Or the time I slammed my locker shut and my hair got stuck in it! Do you know how stupid I felt standing in the corridor with my face pressed against the lockers like some shameless eavesdropper?"

He didn't respond immediately, leaving me to brood over my 'if embarrassment could kill' moments. But when he did respond, I had to say, it completely blew my mind.

In a flash he bent down and buried his face in the crook of my neck, hugging me close to him, as his entire body shook and tremored.

Don't tell me...was he...was he...

When I heard it, I was left mesmerized, the sound ringing like the sweetest music in my ears. My eyes widened in both utter disbelief and unparalleled joy as I basked in the warmth of the most amazing thing I had ever heard in my entire life.

Zuerien's laughter

He threw his head back laughing loudly, his eyes were squeezed shut and crinkling at the corners. Mirth was painted across his handsome features as he shook his head, still chuckling to himself. I stared at his beautiful face in awe, never had I seen it look so breathtaking.

What I wouldn't give to see and hear him laugh like this everyday

"You...You're really..." he tried to reel in his laughter, "You're really unbelievable Suzzanah", he breathed out, "Why didn't you just open the locker?"

"It was locked! I couldn't see the combination because my face was twisted to the other side!"

He burst into another bout of extremely mirthful laughter and warmth flooded my body. This was what I wanted most. To take all his pain away and give him many many reasons to laugh. I wanted to protect him, not from physical enemies, but from the demons that plagued his mind and tortured his soul. I wanted him to be happy, more than anything else in this world.

I hadn't realized it, but I too was grinning widely with him, until it dawned upon me that I had actually ended up making a fool of myself by telling him all that.

"S-See! That's why stay out of my head!" I told him feeling my cheeks heat up as he looked down at me gleefully.

Maybe it was the way his face was slightly flushed from all the laughing, or how his eyes were still crinkling at the sides in amusement or how his lips were still pulled into a handsome grin, but my heart suddenly felt like it was going to explode.

"I definitely have to get in your head more often", he said as his laughter finally subsided and I gaped at him.

"You-you-you animal!" I finished stupidly, seeing as that was hardly an insult for his kind. It was probably like someone yelling, you human being, at me.

He snorted, "Animal ey?" Zuerien said, his smile being replaced by a mischievous smirk, "Maybe I should show you just how much of an animal I can actually be?"

I inhaled sharply, as I realized that by that statement, he didn't mean shifting into Kai.

His arms tightened around my waist and his head immediately bent down to mine. Just as his lips were about capture mine, he stopped and his body went stiff. I had squeezed my eyes shut, only to open them uncertainly when nothing happened after a few seconds.

Zuerien's eyes were glazed over and I immediately knew that he was mind linking someone. He did say that he had come to get me, maybe someone was waiting for us.

Irritation flickered across his features and I wondered what had happened as I tried to wiggle out of his grip as stealthily as I could.

And that's when I discovered that binding chains and Zuerien's upper limbs were very similar, only the chains were easier to get out of.

Zuerien ended the mind-link soon enough and blinked at few times before focusing on me.

"Who was it?" I asked.

"John", he replied, "He said the others are on their way there"

"Others are on their way where?"

"The library"

My eyes widened, "I didn't know there was a library here", I told him, "I didn't see any signboard leading to it either"

"That's because there isn't any", Zuerien replied, "None of the humans know of the library, its deeper in the woods"

"So...none of the humans have ever stumbled across it, even by accident?" I asked.

"They can't"

"Why not?"

"That is one of the things you'll be told about at the library today", he told me, "Why don't you go and change? I need to mind link some people about work"

I smiled and nodded before looking down at the lovely garment happily.

Don't worry, I'll protect you from Zuerien and Kai

Zuerien snorted and my head shot up again, "DON'T READ MY MIND!!" I shouted, knowing he had done so.

"Don't worry", he said, "I want to see you in this dress so I won't do anything to it", I smiled, "Yet", he added with a smirk making my smile fall.

"Shameless man-animal", I mumbled trying to hide my blush as I finally managed to wiggle out of his grip, hugging the dress to my chest.

"I didn't know what your favorite color was, or I would have bought you something in that", Zuerien told me, "By the way, what is your favorite color Suzzanah?" he asked.

I grinned at him before holding the dress out in front of me, "Blue!" I exclaimed happily making him smile as well, "Blue and..."

He raised his eyebrows inquisitively, "Blue and?" he asked.

My eyes drifted to the majestic streak running through his dark hair and then to his now warm brown eyes. I smiled.

"Gold"

****

"Good morning Alpha, Luna", Alpha Penson said as we walked into the library. He was seated on at a long wooden table, with a book as thick as Zuerien's bicep, open in front of him.

"Good morning", we both replied and Alpha Penson smiled at me, "You're looking lovely Suzzanah", he said and I ran a hand through my now frizzy hair and smiled sheepishly at him, "Thank you"

From the corner of my eye, I could see Zuerien looking at me affectionately. The dress had been a perfect fit, which was both delightful and disturbing at the same time.

Just how had this were-man known my exact size?

When I had walked out of the bathroom changed, Zuerien had been mind-linking someone again. When he had noticed me, he had been quite pleased with how I looked, or so I presumed, seeing as he had spent the next ten minutes kissing me breathless.

Ahem

I had thought that we would be very late, especially because Zuerien had said that the library was located deep in the woods. How these were-people managed to maintain their sense of direction was beyond me.

But when we had entered the woods, Zuerien had immediately swept me off the ground, much to my horror and disapproval. And well, I didn't remember much of what happened after that. One minute we were shooting through the forest faster than light itself and the next we were standing outside the library.

Safe to say, it had taken me some time to orient myself again, not to mention tame my wild hair.

Surprisingly, only Alpha Penson was here and it had taken me a few minutes to recognize him because he was wearing a rather gaudy aquamarine sweater with brown dots on it, which was very uncharacteristic.

Speaking of uncharacteristic

My eyes drifted to Zuerien, who was also dressed in something I personally didn't think he would choose to wear. I had noticed first when I had walked out of the bathroom changed and he had been busy mind-linking.

He was wearing black jeans and a similar dark sweater over it, which looked a little small and tight for him. The collar had small distorted orange bugs weaved into it and so did the base. But what had really cracked me up was that the back said 'BAD BOY' in big sloppy orange letter which I had failed to notice earlier because Zuerien had not once stood with him back to me.

I had thought of teasing him about it, but then forgot because well things got a little heated after he saw me in his selection of dress.

Ahem Ahem

"Where are the others?" Zuerien asked Alpha Penson, taking a seat next to him. He patted the seat on his other side for me and I nodded sitting down.

"Cole is upstairs with Talon", Alpha Penson replied, "Marco and Prophecy are on their way and well Rino...as I already told you earlier...is missing yet again. Hopefully he didn't get lost in the woods again like yesterday"

Zuerien sighed, "I wouldn't put it past him. That boy can get lost in his own room"

Alpha Penson chuckled and I blinked at the both of them, "Shouldn't we go look for him?"

"Oh don't worry Suzzanah, we've already sent some omegas to go find him", Alpha Penson replied.

"Omegas?" I asked.

"They are a class of wolves", he replied. He put a hand on Zuerien's shoulder, "Like Zuerien is Alpha", he said, "Cole is Beta...Del-", anger flickered across Zuerien's face and I gulped, "-is Delta", Alpha Penson told me, "There is no Gamma title. After Delta, it's the Warrior wolves, like Ms. Black, then the messenger wolves, and finally the omegas who are weaker wolves and the dormant wolves who can't shift"

I nodded in understanding, "I see", I said, "There seems to be a very well demarcated power distribution amongst the werewolves. Is it like that in all packs?"

Alpha Penson nodded, "That's right Suzzanah. These titles are hereditary, meaning that they are passed down in the family. But the titles can be claimed by others too", he said, "Suppose the Delta's son isn't considered capable enough for the rank or there is a Warrior wolf stronger than him or her, then they can challenge them for the title or the Alpha can pit them against each other, and if the warrior wolf wins, he or she becomes the new Delta"

I cringed, "Oh...and by challenge...you mean..."

"A battle of course", he replied and I nodded, "It is quite rare for a ranked wolf to not live up to his or her expectation because they are trained to take the title from a very young age", Alpha Penson continued, "so such challenges are seldom declared, especially against the Alphas and Betas of packs, because it is considered quite demeaning and disrespectful"

"I can imagine", I replied.

We fell silent for a while as I took in the new information. All this time while we had been talking, Zuerien had been listening quietly while sifting through the pages of the large book Alpha Penson had been reading. Now as Zuerien and Alpha Penson started talking about work and patrols, I wondered if in his younger days Zuerien had been a student who enjoyed learning or the rebellious kind who preferred fighting and other physically challenging activities.

I was never an exceptional student, I was a naturally slow person, which was quite obvious given the fact that I had taken quite a while to discover the identity of werewolves despite of all the clues that had been thrown my way.

But in my defense, there was also the very understandable reasoning that humans who went around admitting to having seen ghosts and creatures who transformed into animals, were usually not found in the safety of their respective homes, but within the confines of a secluded facility for the mentally unstable.

Karina on the other hand was very intelligent. Only problem with her was that she was a lazy creature and refused to touch her books till the very last minute. Regardless, she was quite an exceptional student because she invariably understood difficult concepts with ease.

I wasn't surprised that she had discovered the existence of Supernaturals too, and knowing her, she had probably figured it out before me but I only found out that she knew when she finally told me last evening.

Karina...I hope you're okay

My eyes drifted to the clutch purse I had placed on the table in which I had kept my phone. I thought back to the phone call I had received from her number last night when I had walked into the lounge and how she hadn't said anything at all. I had checked this morning but I had no new calls and no messages either. It was starting to get quite distressing.

I looked towards the stairs that led up to where Mr. Talon and Master Cole were and I stood up quickly. Alpha Penson and Zuerien immediately stopped talking and looked at me.

"Where to Suzzanah?" Zuerien asked.

"Upstairs", I said, "Master Cole and Mr. Talon are there right. Oh, speaking of Master Cole, how is he? Is he better today?"

Zuerien and Alpha Penson exchanged surprised glances before Alpha Penson asked, "So you noticed his off behavior too Suzzanah?" he said and I nodded, "How is he?"

"Well...he is-"

"I'm fine, thank you"

Both Zuerien's and Alpha Penson's gazes went to Master Cole, who had answered from behind me and I turned around to greet him only to lurch back in shock.

Uh...

Master Cole was wearing a parrot green sweater with an orange collar and pink embroidery. He was so colorful that he looked like a mixed fruit cocktail.

He cringed at my wide eyed expression and I smiled sheepishly, "S-Sorry, you just caught me off guard", I said quickly, "You look...different", I struggled with my words, "I mean, all three colors compliment your hair so..."

Stop blabbering woman!

"Thank you, but you don't have to struggle to compliment this Luna", he said gesturing to himself.

"No, really. It's not that BAAAAAD!" I shouted in alarm when a blindingly bright object buzzed around in my peripheral vision.

When my eyes adjusted to the piercing yellow sweater, I recognized the face of the person inhabiting it.

"Mr. TALON?" I gawked in shock and Mr. Talon made a nasal sound of despair that reminded me of geese honking.

"What happened to you?" I ended up asking genuinely feeling concerned about him, because I knew that Mr. Talon hated bright eye-catching colors, "Are you okay?"

He sighed and face palmed, shaking his head, "I've been asking myself that question all morning"

I looked around the room at the flamboyant display of color that could possibly burn a couple retinas. It was also probably one of the reasons why Zuerien was sitting with his hand over his eyes and Master Cole and Alpha Penson were squinting.

The more I looked at them, the more each man in this room looked like a male model hired to walk the ramp in a fashion show themed 'Color blind'.

More like Colors that blind

"Is today some kind of special day?" I asked cautiously, "Like a werewolf festival of some sort?"

"Oh trust me child, we are far more decently dressed for festivals", Mr. Talon said stumbling- because he was not wearing his glasses- to one of the chairs at the table and slumping onto it, "Our attire today is unfortunately how we express our thanks, it is a token of our appreciation"

"To whom?" I asked.

"Prophecy", they chorused wearily and my eyes widened.

"Luna Prophecy?" I asked and they nodded.

"These are sweaters she stitched herself especially for us last Winter", Master Cole told us, "Except Talon's of course. She brought this number with her yesterday"

Mr. Talon groaned and put his head on the table. His yellow sweater was brighter than the sun and the blue-black stripes across it made him look too much like an insect. He looked like a honey bee.

"She likes stitching", Zuerien sighed, "But as you can see, she isn't very good at it. I still don't know why she stitched bugs onto mine"

"Anything is better than Marco's sweater though", Master Cole said seating himself next to Mr. Talon.

I cringed wondering what spectacle Alpha Marco would be exhibiting before my gaze zeroed in on Master Cole. He sat quietly staring at the table, his gaze occasionally flickering towards Zuerien.

'I'm fine' he had said, but I knew he wasn't. I could feel the tension running through his veins, even though it was hard to tell when he was so dazzlingly dressed. He wasn't fine at all. On the contrary, he seemed most stressed at the moment, even more so than my honey-bee impersonating best friend.

I wondered what had happened to make him this way. Judging by the way Alpha Penson and Zuerien had reacted to my asking about him, I didn't think he had told them anything either. It wasn't my place to ask, but I couldn't help but worry about him.

I took a seat again, next to Zuerien, and continued to watch Master Cole. While Zuerien, Alpha Penson and even Mr. Talon indulged in conversation, he sat quietly, his brow furrowed in worry. He must have sensed my gaze on him because his eyes momentarily met mine.

Normally, he would have smiled at me, but this time he simply gulped and looked away. I wanted to help him, but if I asked, I would just seem nosy.

What should I do?

I didn't have time to ponder that question because suddenly all the men in the room sat up straighter, and their gazes went towards the entrance of the library.

I too looked, but even after a few seconds no one walked in. Beside me, I heard Zuerien snort and Alpha Penson chuckled making me look at them wide eyed. They weren't mind-linking, so what were they amused about?

"Freakin ridiculous!" I suddenly heard Alpha Marco's voice shout in the distance, "I'm...this off!"

I strained my ears trying to hear the voices coming from near the entrance of the library.

"Spare me the horror!" I heard a female voice shout.

Luna Prophecy?

"HORROR? HORROR! I'm already dressed in this epic fashion disaster! There could be no greater horror than this!" Alpha Marco shouted and I bit my lip trying not to smile.

"Stop whining!" I heard the woman whose characteristic voice I had recognized as Luna Prophecy's say, "Pink is a great color! Besides, it makes your eyes pop"

"This abomination will make anybody's eyes pop! Preferably out of their skulls", Alpha Marco growled exasperatedly.

"Ugh! Don't create images in my head I can't ever un-see!" Luna Prophecy shouted.

"Well it's too late for that!" Alpha Marco exclaimed irritably, "Thanks to you and your hobby, I've already created a dozen images people can't ever un-see. Heck even I can never un-see this, even though I didn't even look at myself in the mirror since morning. And why the hell does this thing show off my belly button?!"

I choked on a laugh, Belly button???

"It's not supposed to! You outgrew it!" Prophecy retorted, "How the hell did you outgrow it at this age? Are you still experiencing puberty?"

"Shut up woman! You're giving me a headache early in the morning. How do you expect on making a good first impression on the Queen like this?"

I heard Luna Prophecy gasp out loud and I wondered if the two of them even realized that we could hear them.

"The Luna is here?" Luna Prophecy asked and I smiled getting up from my chair before slowly walking towards the entrance from where I could hear their voices coming. Behind me, I heard the scraping of chairs against the floor and knew that the men were also getting up.

"Well duh! Who else do you think you're here to meet?" Alpha Marco replied.

"The Luna is here!" Luna Prophecy shrieked, "Couldn't you have told me earlier. I thought this was the usual council meeting. I didn't know she was here. I didn't even dress appropriately"

"If you mention dress and appropriate in the same line one more time, I swear I'm going to throw you to the other side of the woods!" Alpha Marco exclaimed.

"She's here! I finally get to meet her! Oh my god! Oh my god!"

I could already feel Luna Prophecy's excitement as she stood a few feet away from the entrance wondering if I should wait for them to come in or walk out to meet them instead. I looked to Zuerien in indecision and he motioned towards the door. I grinned and nodded before walking to the entrance.

The minute I took one more step forward I heard Luna Prophecy gasp loudly, "SHE'S HERE! I can sense her aura! The Luna is here!"

"Yeah...Wait, what? Wait- which one- Prophecy!" Alpha Marco's shout sounded by the sound of someone's footsteps rushing towards the entrance. I stood about a foot away from the door when suddenly Zuerien's arm slipped around my waist and pulled me back just in time to avoid my face getting slammed by the door that flew open.

Losing my balance, I fell backwards and my back hit Zuerien's solid torso, my head jerking to the side.

"LUNA!!!" I heard a very familiar characteristic voice cry out in a very familiar characteristic manner.

It was her, the caped figure from the woods, the light haired woman in the moonlight, the other Luna I had been waiting to meet.

Luna Prophecy!

I turned my head excited just in time to catch the glimpse of a disappearing figure whose hands were outstretched towards me.

And then she was gone.

The room fell extremely silent as every single one of us gaped shell-shocked through the emptiness in front of me where Luna Prophecy had just been standing, at a flabbergasted and might I add, horrendously dressed Alpha Marco. And when the shock passed, disbelief took over.

"WHAAATT?" everyone shouted in unison.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Alpha Marco shrieked in aggravation, "Why now Prophecy?!"

"She's gone again", Zuerien said sounding equally exasperated as he pulled me up and steadied me on my feet, "Stay here", he told me before running out of the library with Alpha Marco and Master Cole trailing close behind him.

Alpha Penson's eyes were glazed over and I knew that he was probably mind-linking someone about this particular situation.

My shoulders slumped in disappointment and concern, disappointment at yet again having missed a chance to meet Luna Prophecy and concern about where she could have disappeared to that all the men panicked the way they did.

My gaze drifted to Mr. Talon who was currently looking around the library in alarm, "Mr. Talon, what happened?" I asked him worriedly, "Why is everyone panicking? Is Luna Prophecy alright? Is she in danger?"

He shook his head, "No child. She isn't in danger", I sighed relieved, "at least, I really do hope she isn't", he added making my concern resurface.

"But where did she disappear to? Where does she keep disappearing to?" I asked.

He sighed, "It's a new place every time, we can never be sure", he told me, "But it's not just the place but also the time that everyone is worried about"

The time?

I looked at my wrist watch, it was nearly 8:30 am. Was there something significant about it?

Mr. Talon put his palm over my watch, "I don't mean this time Suzzanah", he told me, "I mean time in general. Past, present and Future"

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I shook my head in incomprehension, "I don't understand"

"What he is trying to say is", both I and Mr. Talon looked towards Alpha Penson as he spoke, "Luna Prophecy can be in any of those three times"

My eyes widened slowly as disbelief marred my features, "You mean..."

He nodded, "Prophecy is a time traveler"

****

I rubbed my temples with the tips of my fingers as I felt a dull headache radiating across on my forehead.

"Okay, let me get this straight", I said, "Luna Prophecy is a Luna Extraordinaire, and her extraordinary ability is being able to travel through time"

Alpha Penson nodded.

"And that's why she is titled the Luna of Time"

"That's right"

"And whenever she does this time jump teleportation thing, she goes to places which have something to do with the other two Lunas whom you are trying to find"

"And you", Alpha Penson replied, "But now that you have been found already, we are hoping she won't teleport to you in the present, past or future anymore"

"But she did yesterday"

"Indeed she did. We are still not sure about the reason for that"

"And she had no control over where she goes or when she goes there?"

He shook his head.

"That's crazy! It's so dangerous!" I cried out, "Isn't it possible for someone to be teleported with her?"

"I'm afraid not", Alpha Penson said, "Time travel is an ability exclusively possessed by her. No one else can accompany her..." his voice trailed off at a note which seemed to imply that he wanted to add a counter argument, something like a but or an unless, yet in the end, he didn't and I was left to wonder if I had just delved unnecessarily deep into the matter.

"And you also said that she can travel through time either physically like she did just now or just in spirit form right?" I asked and Alpha Penson nodded.

"That's right", he replied, "But its slightly more worrisome for us when she teleports physically because then the people around her can see her, hear her, touch her even. If she runs into bad company, they could harm her"

My heart rate sped up as both fear and worry coursed through my veins. Alpha Penson must have noticed this because he immediately bent forward and patted arm.

"Relax Suzzanah. I said could, not will remember", he told me softly, "Most of the times her teleportations are very strategic. Like you said yourself just a few minutes ago, she always teleports to a place which is in some way related to the other two Lunas, so she is most likely safe. And up until now she has very rarely run into dangerous company", he smiled at me, "Besides, Luna Prophecy is a witch. She may not be very experienced but if she comes across any troublesome situations, she can take care of herself using her magic. So don't worry"

I exhaled heavily and nodded, some but not all of my anxiety quelling at his words. I couldn't imagine the kind of courage it would take to be in her shoes. She was truly a marvelous young lady. And she was so young, apparently she was younger than me by an year. She had turned 20 this year while I had turned 21.

I hoped and prayed that she was alright. As though it wasn't bad enough with one, I suddenly had two young ladies I was freaking out about- Karina and Prophecy. And unfortunately I couldn't do anything for either of them.

Alpha Penson pushed a large white sheet towards me and I looked down at it to see a list of dates and places written down on it. There were a total of 8 places out of which two were marked in red.

"What is this?" I asked him, my eyes skimming over the list of places stopping on some of them.

"It's the list of places Prophecy has teleported to up until now", he replied, "Each of these places has something to do with either you or the other two Lunas"

He tapped his finger on the two dates marked in red, then said, "these are the two dates when she teleported to you- that time in the woods when you first saw her in the cape, and last night. So we marked those in red knowing those two places have nothing to do with the other two Lunas. Now, can you tell me which other places out of the 6 that have not been marked, have something to do with your past?"

I looked down at the sheet again and my eyes fell to the very first place on the list, "California. I was born there", I told him and he nodded, "Okay"

My eyes trialed down the list and stopped on the fourth place, "Muscat", I said, "I used to live there up until I was about 9 or 10 years old", I told him and his eyes widened as he looked down at the date written next to Muscat, Oman.

14th November 2003

"That is the date to which Prophecy was teleported. In 2003, you would have been about 9 years old right Suzzanah?" he asked and I nodded.

He inhaled deeply, "It seems authentic then. I think it's safe to say that Muscat can be ruled out from our search seeing as its quite certainly belongs to your past and even the dates and your supposed age at that time match"

I nodded, "What about California?" I asked.

"Since we don't know the time when Prophecy teleported to California, whether she was teleported to the past or present or future, we can't be sure", he told me, "She could have teleported to the future or present time California, whereas California is a part of your past"

I nodded, he was right. On the side of the document, there was also a list of dates on which she was teleported. Although they didn't know what date it had been in California when she had been teleported there, the date here had been 30th March, 2014.

Meaning that she had been teleported on the 30th of March last year to California, and they didn't know what date it was in California at that time and whether it was, in the past, future or present.

If it had been present time, meaning California, USA -30th March 2014, then it couldn't have been related to me. Last year, I had been working in India while Karina had been doing a project in New York. I had visited her there too around that time.

Similarly, if it was California in the future then I wouldn't know if it had something to do with me since I didn't know if I would be going to California in the future.

My headache intensified and I groaned.

"There there child", Mr. Talon said as he quickly walked up to us, "Here, cold lemonade. I had it ordered and brought from the restaurant"

I smiled and took the glass from him, "Thank you so much", I said taking a sip of the drink and sighing in content.

Mr. Talon smiled at me and handed Alpha Penson a glass too.

"Thank you Talon, this was thoughtful of you", Alpha Penson said, "Especially since none of us have had breakfast. Any word from the Alphas yet?"

"They looked all around the resorts but she isn't there", Mr. Talon said, "They are looking with the other patrol members in the woods as we speak but it isn't very likely that she is around here"

Alpha Penson nodded, "I see. That's quite unfortunate"

I could understand why he said that. According to Master Rino, one of the Lunas, the one whose presence he could feel inside Annabelle, could be here at the Annual Games. If Luna Prophecy had teleported to some place within the resorts just now, that would almost certainly indicate that Master Rino's Luna was here. It would make the search a lot easier.

The Luna of Intercession and The Luna of Hearts

Lost Lunas...

"Why are they called the lost Lunas?" I asked Alpha Penson and he looked up at me.

"Because after their death over 1000 years ago, the Lunas have never been retrieved again"

"What?!" I exclaimed, "Over a thousand years?"

He nodded, "As I have already told you, the Luna of Time is the one who predicts the coming of the Council Members. Once she predicts their birth or their location, it is the job of the King and his most trusted advisors to retrieve the member. But over the years, even after the prediction of the coming of the Lunas, they could never be retrieved to the Kingdom"

Alpha Penson had said that the Extraordinaire title holders did not inherit them but were born with those abilities. Once each Title holder died, he or she would be reincarnated again in another body and that person would become the new Extraordinaire title holder.

These individuals needed to be identified based on their special powers and retrieved to the Kingdom. And according to him, the two other Lunas of the Council had not been reclaimed to the Kingdom in over 1000 years.

"Before her, Prophecy's predecessor- the earlier Lunas of Time- had predicted the coming of the lost Lunas too", Alpha Penson continued, "but somehow, our ancestors could never find them. They looked far and wide for them, but they were never discovered"

He leaned back in his chair, "Before Prophecy's prediction about the Lunas last year, the last prediction about them had been made over 300 years ago, by the then Luna of Time"

300 years ago...

"I was alive back then"

"WHAT?!!" I nearly fell off my chair in shock and he smiled at my horrified disposition.

"Its true Suzzanah", he told me, "We Supernaturals have very long life spans. I'm over 400 years old"

My jaw hit the ground in shock as I gaped at him in disbelief, "400?" I breathed

"463 years to be precise", he told me, the amused smile never leaving his face.

"B-But you...you look so young!"

"It's because I'm a Werewolf. We age much slower than humans"

"Unreal", I whispered in awe before looking at Mr. Talon, "And what about you?"

He smiled at me, "I'm 82 child", he told me and my jaw dropped again.

Well, that was much more believable than 463 of course!

I bit my lip nervously before asking, "Uh...and what about...Zuerien?"

Alpha Penson and Mr. Talon exchanged glances making my anxiety spike. Not that my affection for him would be affected if he turned out to be a hundred years older than me, but it would still be quite...awkward.

"Why don't you ask him that yourself", Alpha Penson told me making my shoulders slump.

Well...I hope the age gap stays within 60 years or it'll be rather hard for me to feel like his mate and not his granddaughter

Mr. Talon's eyes suddenly glazed over and he excused himself before walking out of the library. I looked at Mr. Penson in awe. No wonder he seemed to know so much about stuff in general.

I wonder what it feels like to have lived for such a long time...

"So when the prediction about the lost Lunas was made 300 years ago, you were a part of the Council?" I asked him.

He shook his head, "No", he said, "Back then, I had only just started showing signs of being an Alpha Extraordinaire and all the other Council members were much older. My powers had not been discovered yet, but word had spread across the Werewolf kingdom that the lost Lunas had been born once again. And so the other Council members began their search"

A pained expression suddenly marred his features and I wondered what had happened all of a sudden.

"We found one of them", he said softly and I gasped sitting straighter on my chair, "Really?!" I said excitedly.

Contrary to my reaction, his face remained downcast, his eyes suddenly looking tired. I was about to ask him what was wrong when he answered instead.

"We couldn't get to her in time", he replied quietly, "I watched one of our precious High Lunas being killed in front of my eyes"

A heavy weight settled upon me and I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.

"I'm not sure which Luna it was...but I have a pretty good idea", he said.

I hesitated before asking, "Which one do you think it was?"

"Intercession", he replied softly, "The Luna of Intercession. I remember her face even now. She was a vampire"

I gasped out loud, "A vampire?" I breathed and he nodded, "Yes. And she was killed by her own kind for belonging to our Kingdom, for being mated to a Werewolf"

"That's terrible", I breathed in shock, "How could they..."

He sighed, "As per common belief, vampires and werewolves don't get along very well. As of now, we are at peace with each other, but back then, when they killed the Luna, we were enemies. It still sickens me to think that they murdered one of their own kind out of their hatred for us"

His fists clenched in anger and I watched him with sad eyes. How cruel...

"After they killed the Luna, war broke out between the wolves and the vampires", he said, "The search for the other Luna, whom I presume would have been the Luna of Hearts, had to be put on hold. By the time the war ended, the Luna of Time had predicted that the Luna of Hearts, had passed away too. The Kingdom was devastated. Everything was lost once more"

A heaviness settled over me as I realized just how desperate the werewolf kind had been to find and retrieve their lost Lunas.

"After the death of the two Lunas three hundred years ago, there were no further predictions about their return", he told me, "That was until Luna Prophecy predicted their coming last year, on the day of her coronation. Ever since then we have been searching far and wide for them", he looked at me, "Soon afterward, she predicted your coming too, and she prophesied that the Queen would play an indispensable role in finding the two lost Lunas"

I inhaled deeply, letting his words sink in, as he went on, "Unfortunately, so far, we have not come across any solid leads to finding them. Prophecy's teleportations and visions often give us clues but they are all extremely vague. It doesn't help that she has never even seen their faces", he said shaking his head smiling.

"Well she does have an extremely difficult job", I said.

"Indeed she does", he agreed, "When she predicted that Rino was the guardian of one of the Lunas, it struck a strange fear in our hearts. Never up until now, has a pre-destined guardian been prophesied for one of the Lunas. It implies that she is far more vulnerable to misfortune than ever before. It's like nature itself is trying to protect her by giving her a fated guardian. We are all desperate now. We need to find them, and we need to find them fast"

I could understand now, why they had all reacted so excitedly yesterday when Master Rino had said that he had sensed the presence of his Luna. The two lost Lunas needed to return home. They needed to take their rightful places in this Kingdom. This search needed to come to an end.

I put my hand over Alpha Penson's making him look at me. I smiled at him, "We will find them", I told him, feeling the certainty in my words seep into my being, "We will definitely find them"

He smiled at me before reaching forward and patting my head, "Yes Suzzanah", he agreed, "We will"

Suddenly a loud shout sounded from near the entrance of the library. It was Mr. Talon.

"Alpha! Suzzanah! Come quickly!" he shouted and both our eyes widened in panic before we shot off our chairs and dashed towards the entrance.

The minute we made it there Mr. Talon stumbled inside, carrying an unconscious woman with thick blonde hair on his back.

"Prophecy!" Alpha Penson exclaimed and quickly went to help Mr. Talon.

"Quick Talon, inform the Alphas that she has returned", Alpha Penson told him as he carried Luna Prophecy to a couch and laid her there.

Mr. Talon's eye's immediately glazed over as he mind-linked Zuerien and the others. I rushed over to Alpha Penson's side as he examined Prophecy. I was relieved to see that she had no injuries but something felt off about her, like something was missing.

"She is alright isn't she?" I asked Alpha Penson and he nodded absently, still watching Prophecy.

I knelt down on the floor next to Prophecy's couch and her fingers grazed my arm as I did so. I gasped in shock as a wave of cold emptiness washed over me making Alpha Penson tear his eyes away from Prophecy and look at me.

"Suzzanah?" he said, his brow furrowing as I stared wide-eyed at Luna Prophecy.

"S-she feels...so...so..." I couldn't find the word to describe the feeling, "she feels hollow", I finished and his eyes widened.

"You can sense it, can you?" he said and my gaze shot to him, "Oh! So you feel it too?" I asked.

He nodded, "Yes I do", he said, "She feels hollow because her spirit isn't here. Her body has returned but her spirit may have teleported to another place. We'll have to wait until she wakes up to find out where", he told me.

Standing up, he looked down at me with a soft smile, "You're truly a very intriguing person Suzzanah", he told me, "Full of surprises"

"Huh?"

"Now that I think about it, since you can see spirits, it's only natural you can sense their absence too", he said rubbing his chin, "That's quite a gift you have there"

He smiled and turned away, walking to the table and taking out a pen. He sat down and started writing something on that 'Teleportation document' thing he had shown me earlier.

I turned my gaze back to Luna Prophecy. She was quite a beautiful young lady. She seemed to be shorter than me, slim at the waist and bestowed with a lovely feminine physique. Her skin was smooth and thick blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her features were quite striking too, thick lashes, straight nose, full lips. I was quite sure she'd have lovely eyes too.

I smiled at her sleeping figure, "I'm looking forward to finally getting to talk to you Luna Prophecy", I said softly, "Let's be good friends huh?"

Giving her one more glance I walked to where Mr. Penson was sitting. Mr. Talon and him were in deep conversation. As I approached them I heard Mr. Talon saying, "They are on their way back. During their search for Luna Prophecy, they found Master Rino. He was wandering the woods again"

I chuckled and so did Alpha Penson, "Are they bringing him along?" he asked.

"Yes", Mr. Talon replied, "To think so much has happened already and its only 9 in the morning", he looked at me, "Are you hungry child?" he asked.

Before I could reply, my stomach took the liberty to do it for me and groaned like a dying walrus. I gasped and blushed bright red making both the men chuckle.

"I'll take that as a yes", he replied, "Shall I order food to be brought here or-"

"Let's wait till the Alphas get here to decide", Alpha Penson said before turning to me, "Few more minutes, is that alright Suzzanah"

"O-oh! Yes! Of course", I said still blushing, while rubbing my stomach.

Rebellious thing!

Mr. Talon scurried off again while I took a seat next to Alpha Penson. He was looking through some other documents. I reached for my clutch and opened it, taking out my phone to see if I had any calls.

None.

Sighing, I stuffed my phone back in when my eyes fell on a shiny object in the corner of my clutch purse. I immediately recognized it.

The crystal!

After Megan had found it on my bed, I had kept it on my bedside table. Just before leaving with Zuerien I had stuffed it into my clutch to ask Alpha Penson about it.

I took it out and looked at him. He had just stood up with the thick book and documents in his hand.

Might as well ask now

Standing up, I cleared my throat, wondering how to approach the topic. Wouldn't I end up making a fool of myself if it turned out to be nothing but a worthless piece of discarded jewelry?

Give it a shot. You've got nothing to lose.

"Alpha"

"Yes Suzzanah", Alpha Penson replied, still looking through the papers.

"Uh...I have to ask you about something"

He hummed in response, motioning for me to go on.

I bit my lip before extending my hand towards him and opening my palm, to show him the crystal, "It's about this", I said making him look up from his papers at my hand, "I know this sounds stupid but-"

A loud thud sounded as the thick book and papers suddenly slipped from his hands and fell to the hard floor. I jumped in shock staring at the mess on the floor before looking up at Alpha Penson in confusion, only to find him gaping in disbelief at the small shiny crystal in my hand.

"This..." he whispered in shock making my eyes widen.

"Alpha?" I breathed out, "What's...what's wrong?"

Still appearing shell-shocked, he slowly reached out and took the crystal bead from my hand, turning it between his fingers.

My wide-eyed gaze went from him to the crystal and back to him again.

What happened? Was it a bad idea to show this to him?

"Where..." he breathed out, "Where did you find this?"

"My roommate Megan gave it to me"

His head shot up, his eyes going wide, "What?!"

I jumped at his response, "Y-yeah...she said- I mean...she thought it was mine, or so she told me"

He stared at me for a few seconds, his eyes briefly flickering up to my hair before, returning to my face.

"Alpha, is something wrong?" I asked, "You're looking really pale"

"She said it was yours?" he asked and I nodded, "Yeah, I don't know why though"

"But she gave it to you?"

"Yes. Both times"

"Both?"

"She first gave me one yesterday, right after I freaked out and ran away and you guys came and found me with her", I told him, "But I lost it when I came to the lounge later. This morning when I woke up, she picked this off my bed and gave it to me. It kind of...freaked me out that this bead keeps returning to me so I wanted to ask you about it"

He inhaled deeply, still looking extremely frazzled. I didn't know what to say to him. I had never imagined he would react like this. It was extremely rare to see Alpha Penson freak out, and if he did, the matter was obviously something BIG.

"Alpha, why do you look so troubled?" I asked again, "What is this crystal? Is it something bad"

He broke out of his trance and slowly the shock left his features, being replaced by the cool composure, "Uh, no Suzzanah, its nothing bad"

"Then what-"

"Suzzanah, do you mind if I hang on to this for a bit?" he asked me hurriedly and I blinked at him before nodding, "O-okay?"

"Thank you", he said, quickly collecting the papers and book from the ground, "I urgently need to get back to the resorts"

Huh?

"Please stay here, don't leave the library, okay Suzzanah?" he said making my confusion spike, "Alpha Zuerien and the others will be here in a few minutes. Talon is outside making sure no one comes in here and sees you"

"B-but wait! Where are you going? And why shouldn't anyone see me?" I asked frantically.

"Humans can't get so deep in the woods", he told me, "I'll explain everything to you later today alright. I have to go now. Take care"

He was out of the room before I even knew it, leaving me staring at the door in bewilderment.

What. Just. Happened?

I was still blinking in puzzlement when Mr. Talon walked in looking just as confused as me.

"Whatever happened to Alpha Penson?" he asked, "Why did he leave in such a hurry?"

I shrugged, "I have no clue", I told him feeling dazed, "He said to wait till the others get here"

"It's rather strange that he left like that", he said glancing at Luna Prophecy's figure laying on the couch, "Especially given the Luna's condition"

I hummed in agreement wondering what could have happened to him. Whatever it was, it obviously had something to do with that crystal. I just hoped Megan wouldn't get in any trouble.

"And what about you?"

"Huh?" I asked Mr. Talon, snapping out of my thoughts.

"How are you Suzzanah?" he asked, "I haven't had a chance to ask since you told us that you knew everything about us last night"

I smiled sheepishly at him, "Yeah, I must have given you guys a heart attack huh?"

"Oh yes you did!" he said pulling out a chair for me, "I nearly passed out right there"

"Sorry"

"Don't be", he said, "I'm actually relieved that you know now. I think its best that you found out on your own. It would have been rather hard to tell you about us being Werewolves"

I smiled and looked down at my lap. I was relieved too, that everything worked out the way it did.

"So", he said making me look up at him, "How are you coping? Has the initial shock of discovering the existence of Supernaturals subsided?" he asked, "If not, feel free to freak out now that no one is here. I promise I won't tell a soul"

I exhaled a laugh and shook my head, "Thank you Mr. Talon, I'm quite alright. But suppose I do need to freak out in the near future, you'll be the first to know"

He smiled at me, "It's a deal", he said.

"I'm sorry for keeping the fact that I had discovered everything from you", I told him, "I was...afraid"

"Oh child, I don't blame you", he said, "You were actually very brave. If I were in your shoes, I would have surely gone insane", he said his eyes going wide as he spoke, "I'm sorry too that I couldn't answer any of your questions when you used to ask me. It just-"

"Wasn't your place to tell, I know", I told him, "I understand"

"But now that you know everything about us, I don't have to hold anything back anymore", he said happily.

"Really?" I asked and he nodded.

In that case...

"Well...I do have questions"

"Ask away child!" he said confidently sticking his nose in the air and smiling to himself, "You shall have all the answers you want!"

He took a huge gulp of water from the bottle next to him as though in preparation to answer my questions. I gulped.

It's now or never

Taking a deep breath, I said, "It's about the Shadows"

I had never seen someone choke harder on water than poor Mr. Talon did right then.

****

A/N

Hello my darlings,

Hope you're all doing well.

The story has started to delve deeper into the plot. I know many of you are confused but please don't worry. You'll understand everything with time.

Still, if you guys have any doubts, feel free to message me and I'll explain as best as I can without revealing the plot ;)

I know I promised more Z x S time but unfortunately couldn't pen down as much as I had initially wanted to. No worries, there will be more of them in the future chapters.

HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER AND THE TRAILER.

If so please vote and comment to let me know what you think.

Until next time,

All my love,

Angel